Females as Albin & Georges in LA CAGE?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:24pm

I asked a producer friend of mine what her "dream" show would be to produce. She said she wants to do LA CAGE AUX FOLLES but rewrite the roles of Albin & Georges to be a female couple (keep the as Cagelles men in drag).

What do you think of this concept? When she told me I was very inrigued and now I can't stop thinking about if the show were to be done in such a way.

Updated On: 1/17/07 at 01:24 PM

[Piercemn]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:34pm

I don't like the show anyway. I think it's a show about a child who goes out of his way to piss off his parents. However, why would you cast a woman to play a drag queen? I think it's a stupid idea, not to mention that if Harvey Fierstein gets wind of it, he could put a stop to the show.

In Minneapolis a theatre once tried to do The Star Spangled Girl with an all-male cast and Neil Simon put a stop to that. He didn't get rich by being stupid.

Albee wouldn't allow an all-male Virginia Woolf, why would Fierstein allow to women to play Georges and Albin?

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:35pm

The whole show hardly makes sense as it is...and she wants to muddle it further?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:36pm

Yup. Pretty pointless.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:40pm

And her dream project is to rewrite another show? Why doesn't she produce her own original show and write it as she chooses? The idea with a radical restaging is that the new version brings some sort of insight to the work. Not sure what insight she would be trying for with that idea.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:43pm

What is the point of having a woman playing a drag queen?

It's pointless and doesn't work at all.


And I agree with Piercemn, Harvey would put a stop to it.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 1:45pm

She could do a musical adaptation of "Homo Heights" (aka "Happy Heights") instead.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:01pm

They wouldn't play drag queens, they would be playing "drag kings." They are a lesbian couple and the female Albin character dresses up as a man. It doesn't change the story any, it just changes the male couple to a female couple.

And she is a respected producer who has done both original and classical works. She would only do it if Harvey gave his blessing, which he might, if they chatted about the project. Do you know for sure Harvey would automatically object to the concept?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:03pm

Again - why?

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:05pm

So -- Dindon would also become a woman?

[trikaraokeidol]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:17pm

People - think out of the box!!

I think it sounds interesting and if done well - could be pretty great.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:18pm

*thinks out of the box*








Nope.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:23pm

Okay, thinking out of the box would require more thought than "let's cast girls instead of boys."

LA CAGE is not a particularly well-written show and doesn't lend itself easily to endless interpretations like a COMPANY or a PIPPIN. You'd have to come with a provocative idea that would further our understanding of LA CAGE or present the show in a new light. Casting women in the roles wouldn't further the ideas already present in the script--which makes a point of saying that a gay man can be a mother which is far more radical a notion (especially in the 80s) than a lesbian woman being a father.

History also tells us that men in drag has been a theatre staple since Thespis, women in drag, not so much--with the exception of some of Shakespeare's ladies, which at the time were played by men. Now THAT'S convoluted!

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:28pm

Well, I can't argue with you if you don't like the show.

But for those who do like the show, thoughts?

As for "Why?" and "Dindon" I don't know, it's not my idea. My friend is a lesbian, so I'd imagine she likes the show and would like to see it about a female couple instead of a male couple. But I don't want to put words in her mouth.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:30pm

<< lesbian.

Updated On: 1/17/07 at 02:30 PM

[trikaraokeidol]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:32pm

And if somebody told you BIG RIVER would be performed by deaf people or that SWEENEY actors would play their own instruments, would you have nixed those ideas too?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:33pm

I didn't see BIG RIVER, but I did see SWEENEY, and yes, that idea should have been nixed.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 2:40pm

I don't know--I would be interested to hear the rationale for the concept.

I didn't see the DeafWest BIG RIVER but as for SWEENEY, the major change was placing the action inside Toby's head, not the actors playing the instruments; granted, Doyle worked backwards from that idea: actor-musicians (because of budget) had to find a purpose in Sondheim's masterpiece.

If the producer could find a legit and meaningful reason to cast women, she should do it. I'm just unconvinced that such a stunt would shed any NEW light onto the material. It seems like a personal piccadillo--hey, I'd like to play Petra but that doesn't justify casting me.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 6:07pm

If they changed it to drag kings, then 'A Little More Masquera' would never even work.

Besides, drag kings are boring. Put a girl in a suit with a glue on mustache? YAWN.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 6:21pm

I adore the show and it is one of my all time faves as a Musical Theatre Staple! But...I must say, and very quickly cause I have to run for now - but the idea that your friend is proposing REALLY turns me off. I want to give it some more thought, my initial reaction is - Yuck!

[Danielm]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 6:30pm

I would have to know more about why she wants to do it and what her concept is.

I like the idea of a "drag king" musical though. I would probably rather see an original script.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 6:55pm

Y'know, it might give some interesting ideas of the power of one's gender in society. After all, what's more threatening today -- a man who's a "mother" or a woman who's a "father"? Without a doubt, the latter, because we have all this societal baggage about the roles of parents and their respective genders.

I think it'd be a howl, especially if the drag king can pull it off visually.

[Danielm]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 8:12pm

Exactly Seanmartin, I think we shouldn't be too quick to dismiss an idea. If it was done intelligently it could be quite revelatory.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 1/18/07 at 6:41pm

I think some of the visual impact would be lost - in our society it is still outrageous (ecept in NYC) to see a man dressed and made up as a woman, while women wearing men's clothes is not all that unusual - since Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo adopted trousers...

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 1/18/07 at 7:03pm

That just seems like a really stupid idea. Tell your friend that.